Poll: So I found out something interesting about Apple today, along with other companies of course..

[ElPatron]

Didn't the original iPads have an unused space where the camera would go?

Not really news for me.

 

[josemlopes]

The worst thing is how the world responds to that, I was shocked at how many articles there were on "how to sell your old Ipad" when the Ipad 3 launched. Why the fuck is the media (and other users) forcing people to buy a new Ipad even if they already have the previous version? It makes no sense, its like I bought a new TV everytime a new one comes.

 

[Aur0ra145]

Camera companies have operated this way for decades.

 

[Logiclul]

Personally I've never had any use for a tablet that couldn't be done better on a proper laptop but then I'm no artist and I prefer hard books over Ebooks so I guess I'm not the target consumer here.

I used to prefer real books until I got my iPad. Reading a book on a laptop or PC was nearly impossible for me. Mostly because I prefer to read in bed, and generally in positions that don't really work well for a laptop. But my iPad is about the size of a book, and holds well more than just the book I am reading now. I was skeptical, but I am now absolutely convinced that tablets and e-readers are the way the industry needs to go.

No.. you're being completely insane. First of all, I'd like you to answer what industry you're talking about, because I don't know you are aware of what an industry is.

Secondly, I'd like you to think about what you're saying. "I used to prefer real books". You are advocating for digitalized tangibility which could be very bad if certain grand steps are taken.

Thirdly, why are you so sensitive? No one asked about your personal experience with your iPad, and if you want to pretend to be proactive with it then go for it, but I'll stick with the side of the market that isn't poison.

Anyway, I think that this is extremely common, and gives the company security midterm for their products which is ideal. Kind of sucks, but not that much; just don't buy their "+1" iPhone 4S and you'll be fine.

 

[Wushu Panda]

So I study business studies at university, specialising in marketing and operations, but enough of the boring stuff.

Today I was speaking to a guy who worked for Apple who was teaching us about planned obselesence, the planning of making a product obsolete. So how does it work, you ask? Well basically...

At the development stage of production, using the iPad for example, the company identifies what their products are capable of. They then, deliberately, downgrade or leave items out with the iPad 2 immediately going into production to make the original out of fashion within a couple of years time. They then release the new product, with all the "improved" features and upon doing this the iPad 3 AND 4 go into the early stages of production, with the actual top of the line components.

I was shocked by this and must admit I found it very unethical. So did the guy in the seminar, saying he was shocked when he found out but still finds himself buying the latest gadgets, despite hardly any noticable changes as he is a sucker for it all. He likes having what the new thing is.

Other compaines do it too, for example Indesit deliberately design their products to only last the average time of a warranty so they don't have to pay out for new machines whilst ensuring that their customers buy a new machine when it does break after the warranty has expired.

So what do you think?

do you live under a rock? how is this shocking? companies have been doing this for a while now, hence why people say "they dont make them like they used too". Apple is the worst, but it isnt anything new. I figured out they were doing this shortly after the third iPod came out and people were raving how they could trade in their old one for a new. its why i hate Apple and dont get suckered into buying the latest crap.

 

[Phlakes]

It makes sense, though. If you put everything you have into a product, and a competitor out does it, you might be left with nothing better to put out. It's survival.

 

[aba1]

Well, ideally Apple's competitors would design a full product capable of everything right away and then outcompete them until Apple eventually started doing the same.

Unfortunatly there are far too many people who will by Apple products even when they are far inferior to the competition because its' trendy.

Next time you see someone with a macbook in a cafe or something, congratulate them for breaking the market system.

Well to be fair people don't buy a new macbook every year they do buy a Ipad and Ipod however. Besides depending on your job a Mac computer might be necessary. I use a Macbook pro because only the Mac OS can support all the programs I use as a multimedia designer.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Well, ideally Apple's competitors would design a full product capable of everything right away and then outcompete them until Apple eventually started doing the same.

Unfortunatly there are far too many people who will by Apple products even when they are far inferior to the competition because its' trendy.

Next time you see someone with a macbook in a cafe or something, congratulate them for breaking the market system.

Well I agree that apple does make inferior products itunes does over a service that really does not have a good match yet. I also don't think that many other products out there offer thhe cross compatillity between the tablet and the iphone/ipod. On the go and reading a book on your ipod and then when you come home you want to read more but now you can use your tablet. Well you can start off from where you left on your ipod. That kind of convience and sharing, along with itunes offers something that few others out there do. Steve Jobs, in my mind at least, was a medicore developer but he was one hell of a markerter. I mean we all think he made the ipod and other apple products but that was teams of technicans. Steve Jobs was someone who could market or at least make the pitch of the device in question an amazing sale pitch. Thats why everyone sees apple as something special. Because Steve Jobs knew how to sell.

 

[Drabonn888]

Their are a lot of factors so I would say it depends. If they do it Apple style so that they can make more money off the poor oblivious souls who are stupid enough to buy their products than no. But if its to make it so that the product can have a better price to be available to everyone than I can accept it. We could have the new Xbox have an 8 core processor, 32 gigs of RAM, 5 gigs of graphics memory and a robotic blowjob machine but it would cost a LOT of money and people wouldn't be able to afford it.

It would be the best console though, an argument against the gaming pc even

Every spec he said there was nonsense.

5 gigs of VRAM won't do shit unless you are running at realy high resolutions and 32 gigs of ram is beyond excessive as even demanding PC games don't come near using the PC standard of 4-8GB at the moment.

8 cores... why not? At least AMD would be happy

I love that you point out that the specs he mentioned didn't make sense, yet you failed to mention the robotic blow job machine. Haha.

 

[DustyDrB]

Thing is, why on Earth would a company build you a reliable and useful machine that will last long enough so that you barely ever have to buy anything else from them ever again? That'd be financial suicide. They need you to keep coming back and handing them more money, so they have to make old models obsolete and unfashionable as fast as possible. Yeah, it's pretty unethical, but on the flipside, many electronics companies wouldn't be able to stay afloat if they actually built you reliable products.

But they are reliable and useful machines that last a good while. My Macbook Pro is four years old now. It has some damage from being dropped many times, having water spilled on it, and having an entire cup of coffee spilled over it (CD drive doesn't work, neither does the "c" key. Yes...I have to copy/paste the letter "c". And I try to avoid words with a capital "c" because I'm lazy).

Even with the damage, it suits my purposes just fine. I do wish I had known more about PC gaming (I hate the word "PC", with its damn capital "c") then, since I would have probably went in that route instead. But I was just getting back into gaming then, really.

But my point is...things things last. They don't really become obsolete for a looong time. It's just people - and very often those who buy Apple products - feel a stupid need to own the latest model of everything.

 

[Aris Khandr]

No.. you're being completely insane. First of all, I'd like you to answer what industry you're talking about, because I don't know you are aware of what an industry is.

Publishing. Really, there's no reason that any book being published today shouldn't also be available through e-readers. Imagine if you had this technology in schools. How many pounds of books did you have to carry home every night? Now it's all in one portable tablet. How is this not infinitely better? I anxiously await the day when e-readers are expected technology, much like a cel phone is now.

Secondly, I'd like you to think about what you're saying. "I used to prefer real books". You are advocating for digitalized tangibility which could be very bad if certain grand steps are taken.

Conspiracy theory's and paranoia are nothing new. I refuse to hold back my enthusiasm for new technology because someone might misuse it. Frankly, I've heard too many people cry that the end is nigh, only for absolutely nothing to happen. Let's stop seeing everything as evil out to get you. Life's a lot more fun that way.

Thirdly, why are you so sensitive? No one asked about your personal experience with your iPad, and if you want to pretend to be proactive with it then go for it, but I'll stick with the side of the market that isn't poison.

Poison? Hyperbole much? So you don't like them. How is your opinion any more valid than mine? Welcome to the internet, where EVERYONE posts based on personal experience. If you don't want to hear people's personal experiences, then you'd do well to stay off of discussion boards. Especially when someone expresses an opinion similar to the one I used to hold.

 

[lacktheknack]

Honestly, I think Apple shot themselves in the foot long before the iTouch and iPads even saw the light of day for me.

I got a 30GB iPod Classic in 2006. After 2 years, I had completely filled up the 30GB with pictures, movies, games, music, music videos, etc., so reasonably, I went out to buy an upgrade. I got a 120GB iPod Classic for roughly the same price as the 30GB with no real emphasis than more memory.

Since then, I still have 40GB of free memory on my current iPod and I expect that it would be a few more years before I would fill it up. Until Apple decides to release a 120GB iTouch, they will not have my business for quite some time.

If they can put 160GB in an iPod Classic, they can sure as hell do it for the iTouch.

Not all memory is the same. The Classic uses a different kind of storage than the iTouch, that's why the iTouch is so thin.

 

[Slayer_2]

It's Apple... They're so evil they make Microsoft look like Jesus Christ. I'd rather perform an amputation on myself rather than use an Apple product.

 

[latenightapplepie]

It's only really terribly unethical because of all the waste and environmental damage by all the heavy metals they put in these gadgets. If you were putting planned obsolescence into something with minimal environmental damage potential, then that would be fine. The customer can then simply choose not to buy the product. It's called free will.

Oh and in the case of deliberate flaws being placed in products so they don't last long after the warranty runs out, then if you don't like how short the warranty is, then buy a product with a longer one.

 

[smithy_2045]

It's neither ethical nor unethical. It just is.

 

[EHKOS]

They also make TVs last only a couple years now. I remember the first TV we had lasted fifteen years. Yeah it pisses me off.

 

[The .50 Caliber Cow]

Next time you see someone with a macbook in a cafe or something, congratulate them for breaking the market system.

But if I did that I'd be laughed out of the only place offering free internet! D:

OT: Companies are not people. Companies are lumbering political/commercial enterprises after your money and your affection. Nothing else.

 

[Zen Toombs]

It's Apple... They're so evil they make Microsoft look like Jesus Christ. I'd rather perform an amputation on myself rather than use an Apple product.

...interesting theory. Care to explain?